The Ottawa Senators have turned the page on the ‘Heart Over Hype’ campaign.

Now, they’re trotting out a new slogan with “The Hill We Choose”.

The Senators kicked off the 2026-27 campaign on Thursday by inviting the local media to a lunchtime gaggle at the Canadian Tire Centre to let fans know the improvements made during the off-season, plus what to look forward to this year.

While they pointed out all of the changes fans will notice when Ottawa plays its home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 8, the club is hopeful after making the playoffs the past two springs that this will be the start of a new chapter for the franchise.

Captain Brady Tkachuk is no longer steering the Senators’ ship, and the time has come to begin a new story.

Peter Shier, the club’s director of marketing, is hopeful that ‘The Hill We Choose’ can be Ottawa’s version of ‘We The North’, which is used effectively by the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors.

“The ingredients we wanted was that it was ownable and something only we could say,” Shier said. “We want it to be inspiring. We want to be flexible. We did a little bit of research with focus groups and we got a lot of insight.

“A lot of the people who are in Ottawa choose to be in Ottawa. They could be anywhere else, but they choose to be in Ottawa. So, we kind of leaned into that a little bit.”

Shier noted that the hill part of the slogan refers to Parliament Hill and the nearby Gatineau Hills.

“So it encompasses both regions, which we felt was really important. We’re the capital of the country where hockey is religion and the goal is to bring a Stanley Cup to Ottawa,” said Shier. “The ‘We’ part of it is an invitation. It’s saying to people, “We want you to be part of this. We hope you’ll be part of this. Everybody, we’re all in this together.”

The Senators are aware some fans in the region grew cheering for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs because they existed before Ottawa returned to the NHL in 1992-93.

Shier is hopeful that people in the region will choose to be Senators fans.

“When you choose something, it means you’re selecting that over something else. And we want people to feel that they have permission to choose us now,” Shier said.

The initial reaction to the slogan on social media hasn’t been overwhelmingly positive. Sometimes people don’t like change. This could take time to gain traction, especially when you have to explain what the saying actually means.

Selling seats is the club’s No. 1 priority

Selling seats is the club’s No. 1 priority

Cyril Leeder, the club’s president and chief executive officer, stated that season ticket sales are up five percent from last year. But the Senators need to move closer to the league average, which is above 11,000.

Making the playoffs the last two springs has been helpful, but the challenge of selling season tickets remains.

Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has made several changes to the roster during the off-season, especially after the Senators were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs.

The salary cap is on the rise, and if the Senators want to compete _ the organization has to be willing to spend _ which is why season-ticket sales are paramount.

“That’s our battle. That’s what keeps us awake at night. Where we were up last year, we’re up again this year,” said Leeder. “We’re still not at the league average, but we’re working away at that, and what we spend most of our efforts on is trying to grow the season-ticket base.

“That’s where we have the most room for growth. We don’t need to be at the top of the league in season tickets, but we can’t be near the bottom. We’ve got to be in that middle third of teams. That’s

bgarrioch@postmedia.com